appetizers

Holiday Appetizers 101: Baked Brie with Cranberry, Pancetta, and Spiced Pecans.

Update your readers http://feeds.feedburner.com/howsweeteats/smSp Oh, my. Can we please count the ways that brie cheese can be served? This one is very festive, and better yet – EASY. Just wait until you see how easy it is. I start with a small wheel of brie. And some store bought cranberry relish. Since it is Thanksgiving, you may have some extra cranberry sauce laying around that would make an excellent topper. If you don’t, just buy the stuff in the jar! The brie gets gobbled up so quickly that I rarely take the time to make cranberry sauce just for the brie. But if I have some extra homemade goodness, I will use that. I do take the time to fry some chopped pancetta. It is sinful and delicious. And comes in tiny pieces. So, I eat alot of it. Shocking. The pecan picture escaped my camera snap, but I use the pre-packaged Emerald Pecan Pie pecans. Have you ever had these? They are incredible. I can’t stop at one bag, but that’s just me. And, well, you know how I am. I crushed the pecans in [...]

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Holiday Appetizers 101: Cinnamon Sugared Roasted Almonds.

Update your readers! http://feeds.feedburner.com/howsweeteats/smSp If you are anything like me, walking through the mall this time of year without buying some cinnamon roasted almonds is just torturous. Can you smell them now? I can’t, but that’s probably just because I’m sitting by my husband. Who smells like a boy. And rotten eggs. But I still like him. Most of the time. Everytime I am at the mall during the Christmas season (which, let’s be honest, is every single day), I blow a few bucks on those almonds because they smell so good. The outer shells are hard, they hurt my teeth and cut my gums. I eat the entire bag while walking around, then throw a tantrum in the dressing room while trying on jeans. I have no idea why they won’t fit. And then I go get more almonds to eat my emotions. They are THAT good. I knew I needed to recreate these before I bankrupted my family on sugary almonds and new jeans that fit. So I grabbed some raw almonds – a large bag was less than $2.00 at my store. I beat an egg [...]

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Holiday Appetizers 101: Fruit Salsa.

Update your readers! http://feeds.feedburner.com/howsweeteats/smSp While it may be a bit summery, fruit salsa is one of my all-time favorite holiday appetizers. It always gets rave reviews when I take it to parties, and it is something different that your typical chips and salsa. This also is a waistline-friendly salsa. I add a tablespoon of sugar, but it is not necessary. You can opt out of using any sugar, or you can use another sweetener. The fruity goods. The chopped apple is the ‘onion’ of the salsa. It is crisp and tart, and provides a nice crunch to the salsa. I simply mix the other ingredients in with a spoon. I use orange marmalade, because I like to add an orange flavor to the salsa without adding liquid (orange juice). You can add any preserves, jams or jellies you would like (I think blueberry sounds good!). Make it your own. This is such a sweet treat. Guests love this. It tastes like dessert, and is a bit on the healthier side that other fattening dips. Which means, you know, I can eat 5 or 6 [...]

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Holiday Appetizers 101: Firecracker Shrimp.

Update your readers! http://feeds.feedburner.com/howsweeteats/smSp This is a spicy twist on traditional shrimp cocktail. It is also fantastic with pasta, rice, or stir fry veggies. Not that I can testify to it being with great with veggies, since I detest them, but I’m sure it is for those of you veggie lovers. I mix everything together in a large baking dish. This doesn’t look very appetizing, but it is. Trust me. The shrimp gets tossed with the sauce, then topped with lemons. When cooking with shrimp, I prefer to use raw as often as possible. I feel that it soaks up more flavor. However, it is not readily available everyday around here. Cooked shrimp is, and I just happened to have a bag of it. Peeling and deveining shrimp also drives me batty. It is one of those things I don’t have the patience for. I’d rather scoop my eyeballs out with a slotted spoon. And I know what you’re thinking. Now you know the truth. Zero patience. That’s me. Just imagine how much fun it is to live with me! So, once the shrimp [...]

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Holiday Appetizers 101: Buffalo Chicken Dip.

I figured there was not a better party favorite to kick off my appetizer segment than some good ole’ buffalo chicken dip. There are a million variations out there, and I’ve been making this one for about 6 years. It never fails. This is one of the most-requested snacks at our house. We have even been known to eat this for dinner. Which my waistline just loves. The key is combining ranch and blue cheese, and using buffalo wing sauce, not just plain hot sauce. Occasionally when making this just for the 2 of us, I will use low-fat ingredients. If you are making it for a group, I suggest using all full-fat ingredients. The low-fat cheese doesn’t melt as well, and the cream cheese and dressings don’t combine as smoothly. I combine it all into a bowl and use an electric hand mixer to beat until smooth. I always boil my chicken because I think it’s best for shredding, but you can broil or bake it if you’d like. I fold in the chicken and some of the shredded cheese. In this case I grated my [...]

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